U.S. patent application number 11/335440 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-14 for remote game processing.
This patent application is currently assigned to WMS Gaming Inc.. Invention is credited to Christopher J. Frattinger, Alfred Thomas, Terry D. Warkentin.
Application Number | 20060205511 11/335440 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36971745 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060205511 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thomas; Alfred ; et
al. |
September 14, 2006 |
Remote game processing
Abstract
Techniques and systems for remote gaming are presented. Gaming
applications reside and process on portable gaming cards and the
portable gaming cards are remote from the gaming terminal.
Moreover, the portable gaming cards are interfaced to a gaming
system processor, which facilitates the processing of the gaming
applications. Interactions with the gaming terminal result in the
remote and portable gaming card processing an appropriate gaming
application. The results produced are communicated back to the
gaming terminal. Furthermore, the results may alter multimedia
presented or played on the gaming terminal.
Inventors: |
Thomas; Alfred; (Las Vegas,
NV) ; Frattinger; Christopher J.; (Sparks, NV)
; Warkentin; Terry D.; (Carson City, NV) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SCHWEGMAN, LUNDBERG, WOESSNER & KLUTH, P.A.
P.O. BOX 2938
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Assignee: |
WMS Gaming Inc.
|
Family ID: |
36971745 |
Appl. No.: |
11/335440 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60656986 |
Feb 28, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3202 20130101;
G07F 17/3218 20130101; G07F 17/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/042 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A system, comprising: at least one portable gaming card coupled
to be coupled to a gaming system processor, the gaming system
processor having a plurality of interface locations for receiving
the at least one portable gaming card; and a gaming terminal,
wherein the at least one portable gaming card and gaming terminal
are remote from one another and communicate with one another over a
network, and wherein a single gaming application resides on the at
least one portable gaming card and is processed in cooperation with
the gaming system processor, and wherein results from the
processing are communicated to and driven by interactions with the
gaming terminal.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising, an intermediate device
that facilitates communications among the gaming terminal, the at
least one portable gaming card, and the gaming system
processor.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the intermediate device is at
least one of a router, a proxy, a firewall, and a server.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the intermediate device provides
at least one of authentication and encryption services for
communications among the gaming terminal, the at least one portable
gaming card, and the gaming system processor.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the gaming application is adapted
to be at least one of dynamically modified, dynamically added,
dynamically downloaded, and dynamically deleted from the at least
one portable gaming card.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one portable gaming
card is adapted to be moved from one interface location to another
interface location within the gaming system processor and
dynamically associated with a different gaming terminal.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system processor is a
rack or jukebox device adapted to house the at least one portable
gaming card and a plurality of additional portable gaming cards,
and wherein each of the plurality of additional portable gaming
cards communicate remotely with the gaming terminal or with other
additional gaming terminals.
8. A method, comprising: transmitting an interaction to a remote
gaming card, wherein the remote gaming card is interfaced to a
gaming system processor, and wherein the gaming system processor is
also interfaced with a plurality of additional remote gaming cards;
and receiving a result from the remote gaming card in response to
the interaction; and presenting a modified presentation on a
display in response to the result.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting further includes
transmitting the interaction over a network to an intermediate
device that identifies and interacts directly with the remote
gaming card.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting further includes at
least one of wirelessly transmitting the interaction over a
wireless network and transmitting the interaction over a wired
network.
11. The method of claim 8 further comprising, implementing security
procedures for transmitting the interaction and for receiving the
result.
12. The method of claim 8 further comprising, dynamically selecting
a gaming application associated with the gaming card, and wherein
selecting determines the identity of the gaming card before
transmitting the interaction.
13. The method of claim 8 further comprising, processing at least
one of video data, graphical data, audio data, image data, and
textual data in response to the result.
14. The method of claim 8 further comprising, using the interaction
transmitted to the gaming card and the result received from the
gaming card to interactively and dynamically play a wagering
game.
15. A method, comprising: receiving a game command originating from
a remote gaming terminal; processing, by a gaming application
residing on a portable gaming card, the game command, and wherein
the portable gaming card is interfaced to a gaming system processor
which facilitates the processing of the gaming card and which
includes a plurality of additional portable gaming cards; and
transmitting a result produced by the gaming application to the
remote gaming terminal.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising, maintaining data
associated with the gaming application, the game command, and the
result within memory or storage associated with the portable gaming
card.
17. The method of claim 15 further comprising, dynamically
directing the game command to the portable gaming card within the
gaming system processor in response to an identity associated with
the remote gaming terminal.
18. The method of claim 15 further comprising, simultaneously
transmitting the result to at least one of an additional remote
gaming terminal and one of the additional portable gaming
cards.
19. The method of claim 15 further comprising, identifying the
gaming application in response to at least one of features
associated with the remote gaming terminal, the gaming command, and
an identity associated with the remote gaming terminal.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising dynamically
replacing the gaming application with a different gaming
application by dynamically associating the gaming terminal with one
of the additional gaming cards of the gaming system processor.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/656,986 filed Feb. 28,
2005, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
COPYRIGHT
[0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material to which the claim of copyright protection is made. The
copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by
any person of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it
appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office file or records,
but reserves all other rights whatsoever. Copyright 2006, WMS
Gaming, Inc.
FIELD
[0003] The invention relates generally to gaming communication and
processing, and more particularly to techniques for remotely
communicating and processing gaming applications.
BACKGROUND
[0004] The gaming industry has been exploding with growth in recent
years. As a result, a variety of new types of gaming machines have
emerged in the marketplace. These machines are increasingly
equipped with processors and memory and run a variety of software
applications.
[0005] Gaming applications are processed on these machines. The
gaming applications represent wagering games which players interact
with on the hopes that money may be won. Furthermore, gaming
establishments often attempt a variety of marketing measures in an
effort to draw attention to a particular wagering game and its
corresponding machine. One popular approach is to regularly move
selective machines to selective locations throughout the gaming
establishment where it is believed the machines will generate
better revenue from the players. However, when machines are
physically moved, they are not operational, and they are therefore
not generating revenue. Human resources are also required to move
the machines around, which adds expenses for the gaming
establishment.
[0006] Additionally, a single version of a gaming application may
be installed and executing on a plurality of different machines
throughout a gaming establishment. Accordingly, when upgrades,
patches, or maintenance operations are necessary for a version of a
gaming application, the operations must be repetitively performed
on all the machines having that version of the gaming application.
This repetitive work results in down time for the machines and thus
lost revenues for the gaming establishment.
[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an improved technique or
architecture for processing gaming applications.
SUMMARY
[0008] In various embodiments, remote game processing techniques
are presented. Gaming cards are portable, external, and remote to
gaming terminals. The gaming cards are interfaced to a gaming
system processor. Moreover, the gaming cards are interchangeable
within interface locations associated with the gaming system
processor. Each of the interface locations, within the gaming
system processor, corresponds to a particular one of the gaming
terminals.
[0009] The gaming cards house and/or process gaming applications in
cooperation with the gaming system processor. Interactions with the
gaming terminals are communicated over a network to the appropriate
gaming cards, where the interactions are processed by gaming
applications. Results are communicated back to the appropriate
gaming terminals, and the results may alter presentations and/or
other multimedia (e.g., audio, video, graphics, images, text, etc.)
within the gaming terminals.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a remote gaming system, according to
an example embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram of method for remote gaming, according
to an example embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another method for remote gaming,
according to an example embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a remote gaming system 100, according
to an example embodiment. The remote gaming system 100 is
implemented in a machine-accessible and readable medium and is
operational over a network. In an embodiment, the remote gaming
system 100 implements, among other things, the processing of method
200 and 300 of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.
[0014] The remote gaming system 100 includes a portable gaming card
101A and a gaming terminal 102A. The portable gaming card 101A is
interfaced to a gaming system processor 101C. In some embodiments,
the remote gaming system 100 may also include a plurality of
additional portable gaming cards 101B interfaced to the gaming
system processor 101C, a plurality of additional gaming terminals
102B, and/or an intermediate device 101D.
[0015] As used herein a "gaming card" 101A-101B refers to an
apparatus, such as a board, a memory module, a cartridge, or a
circuit, which is adapted to house, play, and/or execute games
associated with wagering (i.e., wagering game or gaming
application). In an embodiment, a single gaming card 101A-101B
includes a single gaming application. The gaming card 101A-101B may
include memory, storage, and a processor. Alternatively, the gaming
card 101A-101B may include memory and/or storage and be accessible
to a processor, but may not actually include the processor. In this
latter case, the processor may be associated with the gaming system
processor 101C.
[0016] The gaming card 101A-101B plugs into or is interfaced with
the gaming system processor 101C. The gaming card 101A-101B is
portable; meaning that a particular gaming card 101A-101B may be
removed from one slot of the gaming system processor 101C and
plugged into another slot of the gaming system processor 101C.
[0017] In an embodiment, the gaming system processor 101C is a rack
or jukebox which has a plurality of slots that gaming cards
101A-101B plug into. Here, the gaming cards 101A-101B are
physically or logically arranged in a rack or jukebox device. The
rack permits a plurality of the gaming cards 101A-101B to be
centrally located and managed. Each of the slots within the rack
houses a particular one ofthe gaming cards 101A-101B. Gaming cards
101A-101B maybe dynamically removed from slots or added to empty
slots. Each slot includes a unique address, identity, or location
within the rack. Mappings between gaming cards 101A-101B and
corresponding gaming terminals 102A-102B may be stored in lookup
tables, in policies, in profiles, in configurations, etc.
[0018] Associations between gaming cards 101A-101B, gaming
applications, and gaming terminals 102A-102B are achieved via
logical mappings and configurations, such that gaming terminals
102A-102B may dynamically be associated with new gaming application
or gaming cards 102A-102B. Moreover, policies or tables may be used
to change these associations, and these policies and/or tables may
reside external to the gaming terminals 102A-102B. Additionally,
some policies may group selective gaming terminals 102A-102B to be
associated with a single or selective grouping of gaming cards
101A-101B.
[0019] Configuration files or gaming terminal 102A-102B profiles
may map a specific gaming terminal 102A-102B to a specific gaming
card 101A-101B or specific slot within the gaming system processor
101C. Additionally, tables or other data structures may be used to
create the mapping. In some embodiments, the mapping may be
resolved dynamically and selectively. For example, the gaming
terminal 102A-102B may present itself to an intermediate device
101D with a set of features associated with its player interface
and based on this information the intermediate device 101D
identifies one or more gaming applications associated with gaming
cards 101A-101B that the gaming terminal 102A-102B may communicate
with. In this manner, the mapping may be dynamically and
selectively determined by a player interacting with the gaming
terminal 102A-102B. It should also be noted that the player
interface features may be determined based on an identity of a
specific gaming terminal 102A-102B or based on an identity
associated with the specific player interface (e.g., make, model,
version, etc.).
[0020] Furthermore, because gaming applications are centrally
located within gaming cards 101A-101B which are interfaced to a
gaming system processor 101C, maintenance may be more securely and
easily achieved. In other words, changes to gaming applications do
not have to be propagated and repeated by physically visiting each
affected gaming terminal 102A-102B on a casino floor, since each
affected gaming terminal 102A-102B does not store a copy of the
gaming application and since each affected gaming terminal
102A-102B gets its gaming application from a central source, the
gaming processor 101C having the gaming cards 101A-101B.
[0021] In another embodiment, the remote gaming system 100 includes
an intermediate device 101D. The intermediate device 101D may be a
router, proxy, firewall, gateway, and/or server. The intermediate
device 101D is adapted to intercept and process interactions
between the gaming terminals 102A-102B and the gaming cards
101A-101B. This is useful for a variety of reasons. For example,
the intermediate device 101D may be used to interface generic
gaming terminals 102A-102B to legacy gaming cards 101A-101B and
legacy gaming applications. As another example, the intermediate
device 101D may be used to centrally manage and control access to
the gaming cards 101A-102B. Additionally, the intermediate device
101D may be used for purposes of enforcing authentication and other
security measures to ensure the integrity of operations and the
security of the gaming cards 101A-101B.
[0022] According to another embodiment, a gaming application of a
particular gaming card 101A-101B is loaded and immediately
available from memory of the gaming card 101A-101B when requested
by a gaming terminal 102A-102B. Thus, there is no startup latency
associated with initially accessing a particular gaming
application, since each available gaming application may be loaded
in memory of its gaming card 101A-101B and available on demand from
a particular slot of the gaming system processor 101C. Moreover, in
this embodiment the gaming system processor 101C may provide a
processor or pool of processors that are external to the gaming
cards 101A-101B and which permit the gaming applications to be
processed within the environment of the gaming system processor
101C.
[0023] Additionally, in an embodiment, gaming applications are
distributed to gaming establishments on the portable gaming cards
101A-101B; rather than by download. This provides a physical
inventory for a casino establishment, which may be tracked and
monitored as traditional physical assets are tracked and monitored
within the establishment. Although, in some embodiments, the gaming
applications may still be initially acquired, updated, patched, or
upgraded via an automatic download from a remote server site and
onto the gaming cards 101A-101B.
[0024] A "gaming terminal" 102A-102B includes processor and memory
capabilities. Although, in some embodiments, these capabilities are
intentionally circumscribed within a gaming terminal 102A-102B. The
gaming terminal 102A-102B may also include a display monitor,
graphics processor, and/or audio capabilities. The gaming terminal
102A-102B also includes a value input device and/or dispensing
device for purposes of accepting value input (e.g., money, winning
tickets, loyalty credits, etc.), for purposes of dispensing value
output, and the like. The gaming terminal 102A-102B is also
equipped with a player interface (e.g., controls, buttons, levers,
touch screen inputs, etc.). In some embodiments, the gaming
terminal 102A-102B also includes other peripheral devices, such as
a media reader for receiving data input. The data input may be
associated with a technician and/or administrator who directly
interact with the gaming terminal 102A-102B.
[0025] The gaming terminals 102A-102B themselves are just
"smart-enough" (SE) to communicate interactions and process
responses from a gaming application for purposes of displaying
modified presentations, playing multimedia, and communicating game
outcomes. Thus, gaming terminals 102A-102B may be viewed as
emulator devices that act as an interface to remote gaming
applications that actually process and control wagering games from
remote gaming cards 101A-101B which are interfaced to a gaming
system processor 101C.
[0026] Furthermore, the gaming terminal 102A-102B is adapted to be
networked directly or indirectly to a gaming card 101A-101B. The
gaming card 101A-101B does not have to be physically proximate to
the gaming terminal 102A-102B. That is, the gaming card 101A-101B
may be geographically dispersed from the gaming terminal
102A-102B.
[0027] In an embodiment, the gaming terminal 102A-102B and gaming
card's 101A-101B network connection is a Local Area Network (LAN)
connection. In still another embodiment, the network connection is
peer-to-peer (P2P), such that the gaming terminal 102A-102B and
gaming card 101A-101B are directly connected to one another over
the network. An indirect network connection may occur when the
gaming terminal 102A-102B directly communicates through an
intermediate device 101D, such as a server, proxy, firewall,
gateway, etc. and the intermediate device 101D directly
communicates with the gaming card 101A-101B on behalf of the gaming
terminal 102A-102B.
[0028] Communications between the gaming terminals 102A-102B and
the gaming cards 101A-101B occur over a network 103. The network
103 may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless.
For example the connections between the gaming terminals 101A-101B
and an optional intermediate device 101D may be wireless while the
connections between the intermediate device 101D and the gaming
cards 101A-101B may be wired. In other cases all connections of the
remote gaming system 100 are wired. In yet other arrangements, all
connections of the remote gaming system 100 are wireless.
[0029] Players and/or technicians interact with a player/technician
interface affixed to the gaming terminal 102A-102B for purposes of
playing wagering games (gaming applications) or for purposes of
performing gaming administrative services, respectively. The
interactions activated by controls of the interface are
communicated via a network 103 from the gaming terminal 102A-102B
to a specific gaming card 101A-101B. Results associated with the
interactions are communicated back over the network 103 to the
gaming terminal 102A-102B where display presentations, audio,
graphics, images, and/or textual information are altered in
response to the results.
[0030] Players also interact with the gaming terminals 102A-102B on
a floor of a gaming establishment, but do not directly interact
with the gaming applications or gaming cards 101A-101B that process
those gaming applications. This provides a higher degree of
security to gaming establishments for purposes of controlling and
monitoring gaming outcomes. It also provides for improved
flexibility by permitting dynamic modifications to the mappings
between specific gaming terminals 102A-102B and specific gaming
applications (via the gaming cards 101A-101B).
[0031] FIG. 2 is a diagram of method 200 for remote gaming,
according to an example embodiment. The method 200 (herein after
"remote gaming service") is implemented in a machine-accessible and
readable medium and is operational over a network.
[0032] In an embodiment, the remote gaming service executes within
a gaming terminal device having some memory and processing
capabilities. One such gaming terminal device 102A-102B was
presented above with respect to the remote gaming system 100 of
FIG. 1.
[0033] At 210, the remote gaming service transmits an interaction
to a remote gaming card over a network. An example remote gaming
card 101A-101B was presented above with the remote gaming system
100 of FIG. 1. The remote gaming card is interfaced to a gaming
system processor, such as the gaming system processor 101C
presented above with the remote gaming system 100 of FIG. 1. The
gaming system processor is adapted to house a plurality of
additional remote gaming cards.
[0034] In an embodiment, at 211, the remote gaming service may
interact with a player for purposes of receiving a game selection.
Each game selection is associated with a particular gaming
application, and each gaming application is associated with a
particular gaming card interfaced in a particular slot of the
gaming system processor. In this manner, the mapping between the
gaming service and the device on which it processes (gaming
terminal) may be dynamically resolved when a player selects a
particular game selection. By selecting a game, the gaming service
can dynamically resolve the identity of the particular gaming card
with which the gaming service will interact.
[0035] In another embodiment, at 212, the remote gaming service may
indirectly transmit the interaction over the network to the remote
gaming card. In other words, at 212, the remote gaming service
directly transmits an interaction directed to a particular remote
gaming card via an intermediate device. An example intermediate
device 101D was presented above with respect to the remote gaming
system 100 of FIG. 1. The intermediate device may act as an
intermediary for communications directed to the gaming card and for
communications directed from the gaming card. This arrangement may
be particularly useful when a plurality of gaming cards (housed
within a gaming system processor) and gaming terminals are
networked together over the network, such that the intermediate
device resolves identities and mappings between the participants of
the network (gaming cards and gaming terminals).
[0036] At 213, the communications occurring over the network may be
wireless or wired. Thus, in an embodiment, the remote gaming
service is adapted within a gaming terminal to wirelessly
communicate with and wirelessly receive communications from a
remote gaming card. Alternatively, communications may be hardwired.
In still other embodiments, communications may be a combination of
wireless and wired, such as when an intermediate device is deployed
and the gaming card is wired to the intermediate device but the
gaming terminal is not wired to the intermediate device.
[0037] In yet another embodiment, at 214, the remote gaming service
may implement security policies for transmitting the interaction
and for receiving the result. Some example security policies may
include such things as authentication, encryption, and
decryption.
[0038] At 220, the remote gaming service receives a result from the
remote gaming card over the network. The result may be associated
with game play of a gaming application which is executing on the
remote gaming card or on the gaming system processor in cooperation
with the remote gaming card. Alternatively, the result may be
associated with some administrative interface which is being
performed remotely by an administrator via the remote gaming
terminal. The result may be a stream of data that the remote gaming
service processes to present image, graphics, video, and/or play
audio. The result may also include a game outcome (loss or
win).
[0039] At 230, the remote gaming service processes the result
received from the remote gaming card for purposes of presenting on
a display a modified presentation. In other words, game state or
administrative state is reflected back to the player or
administrator via a display associated with the gaming terminal.
The actual state was produced remotely at the remote gaming card,
but the communication or presentation of the state is made locally
to the player or administrator who is interacting with controls of
the gaming terminal.
[0040] In some cases at 240, processing the result entails
processing video, graphics, images and/or textual information
within the gaming terminal, such that the modified presentation is
adequately achieved. Thus, a variety of processing may occur on the
gaming terminal in response to the result received from the remote
gaming card over the network.
[0041] In an embodiment, at 250, the interaction and the result are
consumed or used by a player interacting with the gaming service on
a gaming terminal for purposes of dynamically playing a wagering
game. That is, the processing of the remote gaming service
interacts with a player interfaced to a gaming terminal for
purposes of allowing the player to wager on games where those games
are executed remotely over the network on remote gaming cards
interfaced to a gaming system processor.
[0042] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another method 300 for remote gaming,
according to an example embodiment. The method 300 (hereinafter
"remote gaming card service or gaming card service") is implemented
in a machine-accessible and readable medium and is operational over
a network. In an embodiment, the remote gaming card service
interacts with the method 200 depicted in FIG. 2 over a
network.
[0043] In another embodiment, the remote gaming card service is
implemented within a portable gaming card. The portable gaming card
has or is capable of processing a single gaming application. An
example portable gaming card 101A-101B was presented above with
respect to the remote gaming system 100 of FIG. 1.
[0044] In another embodiment, the remote gaming card service is
implemented within an intermediate device, such as a router, proxy,
server, and/or firewall, and is adapted to communicate with
selective gaming cards processing selective gaming applications. An
example intermediate device 101D was presented above with respect
to the remote gaming system 100 of FIG. 1.
[0045] In still another embodiment, the remote gaming card service
is implemented within a gaming system processor, such as the gaming
system processor 101C of the remote gaming system 100 of FIG.
1.
[0046] Therefore, the remote gaming card service may be implemented
within a gaming card, within an intermediate device, or within a
gaming system processor.
[0047] At 310, the gaming card service receives a game command from
a remote gaming terminal. The receipt of the game command may be
directly received over a network by a gaming card, such as when the
remote gaming card service is implemented within that gaming card.
Alternatively, the receipt of the game command may be indirectly
received over the network by a gaming card, such as when the remote
gaming card service is implemented within an intermediate device or
a gaming processor system.
[0048] In another embodiment, at 311, the game command may be
directed to a specific gaming card, after being received, in
response to an identity associated with the remote gaming terminal.
For example, if the remote gaming card service is implemented
within an intermediate device or gaming system processor which is
managing interactions for a plurality of distinct remote gaming
terminals and gaming cards, then the identity of the remote gaming
terminal, or perhaps the game command itself, allows the remote
gaming card service to specifically select the appropriate gaming
card to handle the game command. This may be achieved with mappings
managed by the remote gaming card service and/or intermediate
device or gaming system processor.
[0049] In a similar manner and in yet another embodiment, at 312,
the remote gaming card service may identify a specific or
appropriate gaming application to process the game command based on
the syntax of the gaming command itself and/or based on an identity
associated with the remote gaming terminal. In some cases published
or communicated features associated with a particular remote gaming
terminal may also be dynamically interpreted by the remote gaming
service to resolve the specific identity of a particular gaming
card and thus the particular identity of an appropriate gaming
application.
[0050] Accordingly, the game command may actually be used to select
the gaming application. For example, a player interacting with the
remote gaming terminal may activate an on-screen selection that
generates a game command; that game command is transmitted over the
network to the remote gaming card service and based on the syntax
of that command, the identity of the remote gaming terminal, or
published features associated with the remote gaming terminal an
appropriate gaming application is initiated for game play.
Moreover, each gaming card may be associated with policies managed
by the gaming card service that identify allowable gaming
applications for each gaming card.
[0051] At 320, after the remote gaming card service has identified
the gaming application and optionally the gaming card associated
with the received game command, the game command is processed by
the appropriate gaming application. In an embodiment, the gaming
application may actually be dynamically altered or modified prior
to processing the game command. In other words, the remote gaming
card service may check for updates to the gaming application before
initiating the gaming application or before passing the game
command to the gaming application. In this way, versioning,
enhancements, bug fixes, etc. can be implemented prior to
processing the game command.
[0052] In another embodiment, at 321, the remote gaming card
service may actually access gaming application data, game state,
interactions, and results primarily from memory and/or storage
maintained within the appropriate remote gaming card. In this way,
very little memory or storage is consumed on the gaming system
processor, which includes a plurality of additional gaming
cards.
[0053] At 330, the remote gaming card service transmits the result
produced by the gaming application back to the remote gaming
terminal. That is, the gaming application's execution state is
altered based on processing the game command on the gaming card or
on the gaming system processor. The state is communicated to or
intercepted by the gaming card service and forwarded along to the
remote gaming terminal.
[0054] In an embodiment, the remote gaming card service may also
translate the result into a format that is more readily processed
or recognized by the remote gaming terminals. Thus, generic gaming
terminals with generic processing may be developed to interface
with a plurality of gaming applications. This can be achieved by
the remote gaming card service acting as a translation service
between the remote gaming terminals and legacy gaming cards and
legacy gaming applications. In an embodiment, the generic data
format is extensible markup language (XML).
[0055] According to another embodiment, at 331, the gaming
application may be dynamically replaced with a different gaming
application. This may be achieved by removing the gaming card from
a particular slot within the gaming system processor, where that
particular slot was mapped to the remote gaming terminal. In that
slot, the different game may be dynamically inserted. In this
manner, gaming applications may be dynamically swamped in and out
of the gaming system processor permitting different gaming
applications to be associated with a same remote gaming terminal.
In some cases, the dynamic replacement may also be accomplished via
download over the network.
[0056] In still other embodiments, at 340, the remote gaming card
service may simultaneously transmit a single result produced by a
single gaming application to one or more additional remote gaming
terminals. This may occur when two or more remote gaming terminals
are playing the same gaming application. Therefore, players at
different gaming terminals may play new and novel wagering games
against one another. Communications are sent from the gaming
terminals and intercepted by the remote gaming card service where
they are forwarded to the proper gaming application(s) and result
simultaneously transmitted by the remote gaming card service back
to each of the remote gaming terminals. This provides a unique and
novel gaming experience and provides for the development of novel
wagering games.
[0057] The same experience may be achieved in an alternative
manner, such that each unique gaming terminal interacts with its
own distinct gaming card and gaming application, the two separate
instances of gaming applications then interact or synchronize with
one another to permit two players to competitively play against one
another.
[0058] One now appreciates how gaming may be achieved in a remote
fashion. The techniques presented herein demonstrate how gaming
applications and cards may be decoupled from the actual gaming
terminals that are manipulated by players. This decoupled
interaction and architecture permits better management and
distribution of gaming applications throughout a gaming
establishment.
[0059] The above description is illustrative, and not restrictive.
Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the
art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of embodiments
should therefore be determined with reference to the appended
claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such
claims are entitled.
[0060] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.
.sctn.1.72(b) and will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the
nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with
the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit
the scope or meaning of the claims.
[0061] In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various
features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the
purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure
is not to be interpreted as reflecting that the claimed embodiments
have more features than are expressly recited in each claim.
Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter
lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.
Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the
Description of the Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own
as a separate exemplary embodiment.
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